What the managed WordPress plans include
Liquid Web lists six managed WordPress plans, all for one site: Pro and Elite, each at 50k, 150k and 400k monthly visitors. Storage and bandwidth step up with the visitor tier. The visible difference between Pro and Elite is backup retention: 14 days of daily backups on Pro and 30 days on Elite.
On October 29, 2026, every plan card on both the managed WordPress page and the WordPress hosting overview showed a dash where the monthly price should be. The pages offer a monthly or annual toggle labelled Save 10%, and the overview page metadata cites a starting price of $19 per month without tying it to a plan. Treat the $19 figure as a marketing floor and ask for the price of the tier you actually need, including the renewal rate.
| Plan | Monthly visitors | Storage (shared) | Bandwidth (shared) | Backups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | 50k | 15 GB | 2 TB | 14 days of daily backups |
| Pro | 150k | 40 GB | 3 TB | 14 days of daily backups |
| Pro | 400k | 100 GB | 5 TB | 14 days of daily backups |
| Elite | 50k | 15 GB | 2 TB | 30 days of daily backups |
| Elite | 150k | 40 GB | 3 TB | 30 days of daily backups |
| Elite | 400k | 100 GB | 5 TB | 30 days of daily backups |
The bundled tools that matter for logged-in students
Course and membership pages are personalised for each logged-in student, so a full-page cache helps less than it does on a blog. That makes Object Cache Pro, which Liquid Web lists on every managed WordPress plan, the most relevant inclusion for a LearnDash or MemberPress site. An object cache keeps repeated database query results in memory. It does not replace PHP capacity, and Liquid Web does not publish a PHP worker count on the plan pages we checked.
Every plan also lists staging, a self-serve migration tool, migration by a human, automatic WordPress updates, a visual comparison feature, stencils, Kadence Security Pro, Patchstack virtual patching, a web application firewall, DDoS protection and a Cloudflare-powered edge CDN. The overview page also mentions the Solid Security Pro plugin and continuous malware monitoring.
One inconsistency to resolve before buying: the plan cards list migration by a human on Pro as well as Elite, but the introduction on the same page says specialists migrate sites on Elite plans. If a hands-off migration is the reason you are choosing Liquid Web, get the answer in writing for your plan.
Usage limits and what can cost extra
The managed WordPress page says no hidden fees, but it also lists usage-based extras including autoscaling and CDN overage, plus optional add-ons such as Performance Shield. Plans are tiered by monthly visitors, and the page does not explain how a visitor is counted or what happens when you exceed the tier. A course launch or a cohort start is exactly when that matters.
Before signing, ask three questions in writing: how monthly visitors are counted, whether exceeding the tier triggers a charge, a forced upgrade or only a conversation, and what autoscaling costs per unit if it switches on during a launch.
The managed VPS route
Liquid Web also sells cloud VPS plans with published monthly and hourly prices. The VPS page lists Compute, Memory and CPU families. The plan cards say self or fully managed, Linux or Windows, and InterWorx, cPanel or Plesk available; the page does not say whether a panel license costs extra or which prices correspond to the managed option.
Liquid Web’s own comparison on that page puts automated backups, security monitoring, OS updates and patching, and server hardening on the managed side, and leaves maintenance, monitoring and updates to the customer on self-managed. Liquid Web’s VPS cost article adds that control panels may require an additional license. A course owner choosing a VPS to escape visit metering should price the plan, the management level and the panel license together.
| Example VPS (Compute) | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Listed monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | 1 | 2 GB | 60 GB | 2 TB | $11 |
| Small | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 3 TB | $17 |
| Mid | 4 | 8 GB | 240 GB | 5 TB | $45 |
| Large | 6 | 16 GB | 440 GB | 7 TB | $90 |
Support scope and service levels
The managed WordPress page advertises 24/7 support with a chat option and cites a 99.9999% power and network SLA; the WordPress hosting overview calls the same figure an uptime guarantee. The VPS page FAQ lists 24/7 support by phone, chat and email and states 99.99% uptime guaranteed. None of the pages we read publishes a support response-time commitment, so treat any claim about support speed as marketing until it appears in a service level agreement.
Ask what support will do inside WordPress. A host that patches the server and restores backups is useful; a host that will also trace a slow LearnDash quiz to a plugin is more useful. The pages we read do not draw that line.
EU students: read the terms first
Liquid Web’s terms of service say you must tell Liquid Web if you intend to use the services with data protected by the GDPR, and that you may not use the services with such data until the parties have executed a data protection addendum. The same terms say the services are hosted in the United States except those provided from its Amsterdam, London and Sydney data centers. If you sell to students in the EU, put the DPA step and data center choice on your onboarding checklist rather than discovering it after migration.
Who fits and who will overpay
| Site | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Established membership or course site with tens of thousands of monthly visitors | Shortlist | Object Cache Pro, staging, visual comparison and migration help are bundled; ask for the visitor-tier price and overage terms |
| Site that needs 30 days of host backups | Shortlist Elite | Elite lists 30 days of daily backups; Pro lists 14 |
| New course with a few hundred students | Likely overpays | The smallest managed WordPress tier is sized for 50k visitors and 15 GB; a smaller plan elsewhere may cover the same load |
| Owner who wants a panel and root access | Consider the managed VPS | Panel choice is listed; confirm license cost and management scope |
| Student data from the EU and no time for paperwork | Plan first | The terms require an executed DPA before using the service with GDPR data |
Questions to get answered in writing
- The monthly and renewal price for your visitor tier, and the annual price after the 10% discount.
- How visitors are counted, and what exceeding the tier costs.
- Whether expert migration is included on Pro or only on Elite.
- PHP workers or equivalent concurrency for your plan.
- What WordPress-level troubleshooting support covers.
- For a VPS: management level, panel license price and backup retention.
Questions before you decide
Does Liquid Web include object caching on managed WordPress?
Yes. Its managed WordPress page lists Object Cache Pro as included in every plan.
What is the difference between Pro and Elite?
On the plan cards, backup retention: Pro lists 14 days of daily backups and Elite lists 30 days. The introduction on the same page says specialists migrate sites on Elite plans, although the cards list migration by a human on both.
Can I use Liquid Web for EU student data?
Its terms say you must notify Liquid Web and execute a data protection addendum before using the services with GDPR-protected data. Services are hosted in the US except from its Amsterdam, London and Sydney data centers.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Liquid Web: Managed WordPress hosting plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: WordPress hosting overview Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: VPS hosting plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: VPS cost article Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: Terms of service Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.